What is the undesirable result of AF clipping in a speech processor?

Audio Frequency (AF) clipping involves cutting off the peaks of an audio waveform to limit its maximum amplitude. By doing this, the system allows the overall audio level to be turned up, thereby increasing the average power of the voice signal. However, abruptly flattening the peaks of a waveform essentially turns a smooth audio wave into something resembling a square wave. This sudden change in the wave's shape generates many new frequencies that were not present in the original signal, resulting in high levels of harmonic distortion. This increased distortion can make the transmitted voice sound harsh and potentially widen the transmitted signal bandwidth if not properly filtered.